GLORIA GARCIA ‘PUPPET SHOW’

As an introduction to an exciting artist, Gloria Garcia’s EP ‘Puppet Show’ offers a master-class. Building on her lifelong passion for singing and other aspects of music, she delivers four distinct tracks that demonstrate her versatility (five including ‘Sin Amour’, a delightful Spanish version of ‘On And On’). She appears to have avoided the throwaway, instant hooks that might mimic passing fads and comes across as an extremely mature and promising artist. My personal preference at the time of writing this is the wonderfully soulful and driving ‘On And On’ but, as ever, I am always slightly uncomfortable to state absolute preferences as much depends on other factors such as mood and environment. ‘Runaway’ is a highly charged rocker that gives Gloria a chance to incorporate elements of her Spanish heritage as the flamenco styled guitar rhythms take prominence.

The title track ‘Puppet Show’ brings a dose of electro-pop in to the equation; in some ways I am reminded of Mary Kiani, but there is certainly enough about this song and its delivery to keep well clear of any direct comparisons. As with all the songs, the lyrics are intelligent and a pleasing alternative from some of the banal ones that manage to captivate the public imagination from time to time.

Finally, there is the slower-paced, piano-led ballad ‘Breaking Up’ which enables Gloria to inject the lyrics with heart-felt emotion. Its anthemic delivery just screams for it to be performed in an arena. I very much look forward to seeing Gloria continue to develop her musical career and hope to see her reap the rewards of her skills and determination.